I order the organic free-range turkeys from Whole Foods (not a heritage breed that I know of). For whatever reason, those simply taste better, and I’ve tried doing the identical prep (brining) on a regular grocery-store bird.
What price?
I want to say I paid 2.50 or so a pound - haven’t checked prices yet this year. Spendy enough that I wouldn’t do it every week, but for that one big day it’s worth it.
P.S. A couple of other ideas that popped into my head, not just for Thanksgiving, but for high-quality groceries generally. I haven’t tried either of these, but have friends and co-workers who swear by them. If you want to try a CSA, that’s an option too. (I’ve tried a couple of different ones, but found it just doesn’t work for my cooking style.)
Since I’m working for Thanksgiving and have Friday off, with no plans to leave the house due to crazy people out there shopping, I’m doing a small meal with me, myself and I with the intention for leftovers. I got lucky and didn’t have to buy a whole turkey from my farmer, I was able to buy two leg and thigh quarters! I’m kind of excited, I’m a dark meat girl, so these are perfect. I can roast them with no hassle of working with a whole bird. Doing the rest sort of traditional, seasoned bread stuffing/dressing, cranberry sauce with orange/spices/rum, and instead of sweet potatoes, I do candied carrots with honey/ginger/bourbon, and then “smushed” red potatoes with cream cheese/butter/seasoned salt.
Next time, you might want duck or some quail. My husband and daughter love dark meat, and love both duck and quail. I like white meat, myself, and don’t care much for dark, so I’ll grill a pork chop while they’re drooling.
Going to slide this over to CS.
Oh, I love duck, but this is Thanksgiving, and, well, turkey. Especially being able to buy not so much turkey, and my favorite parts, at $4.25 a pound, super score for me to not have to buy a whole bird. I can get duck whenever, the turkey farm only harvests this time of year.